Here's the thing, when I first started blogging I did some really stupid stuff. I mean, didn't we all? No?.. Oh, okay. Anyway, this is my take on things I wish I knew when I started blogging...
Commenting is great. While it's a way to get people to know your blog, it isn't the only way. So please, for the love of all that's great and shiny, don't use it as a way of spam. Here's what I mean by this:
Person A: Yo, I really love what you said about that thing with the things coming out of it. Keep it up, bro.
Person B: You know I can totally relate to what you said. *a few sentences later* Anyway, here's the link to my blog. Give it a visit. Maybe while you're there.. leave a comment. And maybe like follow me? And donate 1,000 $ so I can raise awareness about rainbow ponies? Lol, no pressure though :)
See, even though Person B's comment is much more thoughtful, it gives off the feeling that they're doing this JUST to direct traffic back to their blog. It feels like a ripoff, you know? It takes genuineness out of your comment. Which brings me to the next thing..
If a blogger wants to visit your blog, they'll find a way. If a blog has Blogger's commenting system, just clicking on your name will take them to your blog. If it's Wordpress, be sure to enter your website's url (there's a place for that). Same for Disqus, Intense Debate, and whatever else commenting system they use.
But is a blogger obliged to visit your blog just because you left a comment? No. Absolutely not. If you leave a comment, don't expect one back. A lot of the bloggers I know, including myself, do leave a comment back. Especially if it is a new visitor I haven't seen before. But I understand if other bloggers don't do that. There are people who get several comments per day, and trying to reply to each and every one AND leaving a new comment on your blog is almost impossible.
So what should you do? I'm in no place to tell you what to do. You're the boss of you, boss! But here's what I do: If it's a blogger I know, I don't bother replying right away, because they are on my Bloglovin' feed, so I'm bound to comment on theirs anyway. If it's someone new, I always take time to check their blog.
Just a friendly advice, please, for the love of Big Tasty, make sure you have ANY sort of link back to your blog on your Disqus profile. It bothers me when I can't find someone's blog.
What is your commenting etiquette?!
P.S: I had no idea what picture to use for this post, so I went with a dolled up minion. Minions never fail me.
I try to comment back, time permitting. Such a pain if a person doesn't make it easy to find their blog though. A link in disqus is so handy and under used.
Telling me to follow their blog though, I hate that! It's spamy and desperate. Just leave the link and say nothing about the link. That works better for me. I'll click it and if I like what I see I'll follow.
First off, that minion is so cute! I totally understand you. Getting comments like "I followed you, follow back?" is quite annoying, but ehhh, don't we all want followers? But I don't like it when they ask because I follow blogs because I LIKE THEIR BLOG, not because it's a "follow for a follow". There's also a high chance of me visiting their blog back if they leave a meaningful comment. By meaningful comment, meaning they read my post and they're commenting their thoughts on it. But what's more annoying than people BS-ing their comments is SPAMMERS. Oh my gosh. It's so annoying. I get one every single day. Literally. But yeah, I feel you, and I hate it when people ONLY comment "great review". Like, how is it great? Please elaborate. Lol.
Awesome topic :)
Leigh
Little Book Star
The minions rock!! Totally know about the spam comments! I turned off my captcha just this year and luckily have only gotten a few spam comments which I've deleted. Actually got a pretty gross one yesterday advertising something related to sex...I didn't really read it all the way, just when I hit that word in the context, I rushed to my blog to delete it, luckily it hadn't shown, guess Blogger deleted it for me!
Commenting everywhere is hard though. I tend to join in on the weekly meme hops and visit blogs that way and go to blogs where people leave links. I read reviews of books that I want to read really badly and sometimes of ones that I read and loved just to see what other people say. But yeah, commenting can be tough because I don't want to leave meaningless comments. I have in the past have had conversations almost with all the commenting I do with some bloggers back and forth!
Nice post!
" please, for the love of Big Tasty, make sure you have ANY sort of link back to your blog on your Disqus profile. It bothers me when I can't find someone's blog." THAT! How I hate that. Especially when someone leaves a name like Kate or Mary so I can't even google them.
Awesome post!!!
I agree, sometimes my time is limited between reading and writing, and trying to comment back, so having trouble finding your link is not cool.
Haha, minions are awesome! Yeah, and Disqus is really great with filtering out the spammers, although sometimes normal people get mistaken for spammers, and I have to manually arrange that.
I agree, it can be frustrating when someone is practically using your comment system as advertising. It also bothers me when someone leaves an extremely general comment that has obviously been copied and pasted. I've only seen this on reviews a bit, but for memes it seems like a lot of people do that. I will admit I kind of hope I get comments back on my blog but if I like what the blogger is posting, I'll probably keep coming back anyway.
Alise @ Readers in Wonderland
It totally bother's me too! I hate it when I click on the name and I get redirected to their Google Plus profile, and there isn't a link to a person's blog. I mean, come on. All you have to do is click a few buttons on Blogger. Y U NO USE GOOGLE+?
Yeah, I'm gonna make a post about this. Eventually.
I actually don't use Disqus so ummm... that's usually not a problem for me. Haha. Wordpress commenting system for the win!
The whole part about it being pretty impossible to respond to all comments on your blog and visit back? Yes. That. I mean, I used to do it no problem but then more people started visiting my blog and it's just sort of gotten to the point where I am just trying to keep up! I like your method though, it's smart. I just am not quite sure I can recognize whose new and who just pops up randomly. (I definitely know those who frequent my blog, like you!)
My new method, which I've just started this past week, is to add the commentor to my Feedly. I've reorganized it so everyone is split up into folders. I have folders labeled "Friends", "Acquaintances", and "Strangers". (Haha, don't ask why.) Each person gets sorted into a folder and each folder has different standards. Like, you're in the friend folder and those in that folder I attempt to check the posts and comment daily. The less I know the people, the less I visit, BUT I get to it eventually. It's an odd system, but it's what I'm doing now ><
I enjoyed your post a lot Reem! Especially because I've spent the last two days catching up on comments on my blog and in turn leaving comments on other blogger's posts respectively. It definitely takes time! I think it becomes hard to post comments-especially meaningful ones when you don't really read the same books as the other bloggers. I'm not sure what to say at that point because I know that I won't read some of the books on their blogs. It's not that I don't appreciate their visits to my blog, it's just that I may not have anything in common when it comes to our reading tastes. Ahahah I loved that you emphasize leaving a blog link, I agree it becomes difficult to locate people when they don't leave any kind of contact ino. I don't really have a system to be honest, but maybe I should think about starting one. It can get overwhelming at times!
Great post, Reem. And I totally agree! My method is pretty much the same as yours. If it's a comment from someone I know I'm going to visit anyway, then I'm fine with that. If it's a new visitor, or one I don't visit often, I'll go to their blog and leave a comment.
I actually get frustrated with commenting systems like Disqus and LiveFyre because there's never an easy link back to the commenter's blog. You have to click stuff to find their Disqus/etc profile, and then hope you can find a link to their blog on there. Same thing with the stupid Blogger commenting system. >_<
Hmmm... for the love of Big Tasty? If that doesn't make people leave links to their blogs, I don't know what will. In my experience, food is a fabolous motivator.
And I agree about being nice enough to check out someone else's blog if they leave a comment on yours. I always do that, even though I don't always comment - sometimes their last few posts are memes I'm not interested in or some kind of book promotions and I just don't know what to say. I usually check back a few times to see if they have some kind of post I can actually leave a normal comment on (do I sound awful? If so, I don't mean to).
And I love your minion.
HOLY SHIT YOU SHOULD WRITE STORY ABOUT MINIONS............. EVIL MINIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I miss your stories :( We need one ASAP, you know?
No pressure, though :) JUST HAVE IT WRITTEN BY THE END OF THE WEEK, 'KAY?
Again. No pressure. c:
Yeah, I think memes are the exception to the rule. Like FF for example, it's much easier if someone leaves me a link to their post so I can check it out easily.
Disqus does a really good job of filtering the spam comments, although it's sometimes mistaken.
hmm, I never thought about googling them, and you know what, sometimes it just doesn't feel like going through all that effort.
Minions are awesome, aren't they? ;)
Ha, yeah, you know when you told me there was no link on my google + profile, I edited it instantly. I don't think people should go through all that trouble to find a link, you know :D
You're so lucky you have wordpress commenting system. It is so neat, and you can add to it comment luv if you want, which is great. Blogger's commenting system gave me headaches and migranes in this template. It's just so hard to navigate around, you know:D
I really like your method! I group blogs too based on how much I visit them, but I only have two groups; Favourites, which I go through every day and FF, which are blogs I follow from Follow Friday. Those I check occasionally, and once I find a blog that's worth looking at, it get "promoted" to favourites :P
Yeah, that must be tough. when I leave comment for a long time without replying, I feel guilty, you know? :P
I usually avoid commenting on reviews of books I have't read because my comments are never meaningful, you know? I like discussion posts the most because I get to ramble on and on without feeling weird :D
Yeah, Disqus as first gave me migranes! But the commenting system that came with my template had no replying feature whatsoever..
The blogger commenting system is terrible! I honestly envy those with a wordpress one. Neat and works well.
aaah, once again we're on the same wave length? There's only two things people can't refuse and one of them is food.
Ugh, I hate it when I dig around to find someone's blog, and BAM, it's all memes and features and nothing for me to comment on. Like, Y U DO THAT?!
You know, I was thinking about writing something light for tomorrow. Maybe a combination of minions/evil world domination/ Scots?
I'll go brainstorm now :P
I don't know if I'm missing out on the essential things in life if I don't know what a Big Tasty is, but I totally loved your post! Like you, I make it a point to reply to the comments on my blog, partly because I love receiving comments and like spreading the love, and partly because I'd want to meet the expectations of bloggers who expect replies. It doesn't bother me much not to get a return visit or a return comment on my blog if I comment, because that's never the point :) I find it real hard though, to truly appreciate comments from bloggers that are suspiciously short and ask you (not so subtly) to visit their blogs. It's does not feel genuine! :( Although of course I still reply. :)
Another great post, Reem. May I flood your comments box just to test your patience? xD
Anyway, since I'm still new to this world of blogging, I'm not yet facing the dilemma of keeping up with reading and replying to the comments people leave in my blog.
I do agree with you that a person should not be obligated in visiting a blog of someone who left a comment but as a proof of appreciation for her/him dropping by my blog, I do visit theirs and comment too. Plus, it helps me create my bloghop itinerary. You see, I allocate Saturdays and Sundays to socialize with all of the people in the book blogging world. Apparently, it's just so big that I don't know where to begin. But ever since people start leaving comments in my blog, I found it easy to draft my itinerary and prioritize those bloggers who took their time commenting in my blog.
Sorry for my lengthy blabbering.
You're totally missing out on the Big Tasty. Well, except if you're a vegetarian. Actually, you might be lucky. It's a calorie bomb..
Oh, anyway (back to something bookish) I don't expect replies back, partially because I can't remember where I left a comment :P There are the comments that feel copy-pasted, and yeah, those don't feel genuine either.
Oh, I wouldn't worry about the comments. The blogosphere is totally friendly, and we LOOOVE to talk :P
But it's very smart what you do, especially if you're still new to this. It gets people to notice your blog, and within time, you'll be making blogger friends, and you'll know which posts you like and which you don't. The system you put is really nice too.
Oh, and I don't know if you'll see this, but if you do, it might be useful to put a link back to your blog. I know yours is thoughts and pens because you commented here before :D It just makes it easier for fellow bloggers with Disqus ;)
Thanks, Reem. Sometimes the blogosphere intimidates me. Hahahah. But I really like stalking posts similar to you because they are really funny and but totally relatable. :D
That's absolutely true. I hate it when people leave comments like these (no offense to those who do though): "Great reviews, thanks for sharing" "nice post, thanks for sharing" with no elaboration at all. So annoying. And last week I got something like this "followed you via bloglovin. Make sure you follow me... *some words later* Come and visit me as well *leave a link" You know, I'd rather have a commenter leave a link WITHOUT telling me to follow or visiting them back.
I try to return the comments I received by leaving comments on their blog too but lately things have been hectic and school is eating my free time I just don't have time to comment back. :( I hope I can find a better commmenting system :(
P.S: Minions are so cute they actually go well on any kinds of posts IMO xD
Well said! I've even had the odd author comment on a post and then tell me I'd love their book and here's the link etc... I'd have visited anyway, there's no need to try advertising :)
I read through the comments and I must be the only 1 who doesn't care if comments are short or long and meaningful. I don't care if other bloggers try to promote themselves through their comments or not. I say - go for it! It probably takes me all of 2 seconds to read it, so it doesn't bother me. And sometimes, I just really want to say - I enjoyed your review ... because I did.
I don't want to feel like I have to write a paragraph every time I leave a comment on someone's blog. To me, it's just a comment - not something I'm getting a grade for. Every time I see a blogger talk about "the type of comments they want to get" I unsubscribe and never visit their blog again. I'm thankful to each and every person who takes the time to write a few words (or many if they wish) in response to my post
Yes! It feels so copy-pastes and unoriginal! There are also the comments that can fit any kind of review. I mean, the whole point of commenting is to engage in conversations with other bloggers and be known, you know :D I hardly think I would remember the blogger who would leave such a comment.
I haven't had an author promote their book on my blog, but oooh I would be so angry! Nothing annoys me more than spam promoting. I mean, it's one thing for a blogger to ask you to check out their blog, but an author? Naah, they just loose all credibility doing that.
I haven't had an author promote their book on my blog, but oooh I would be so angry! Nothing annoys me more than spam promoting. I mean, it's one thing for a blogger to ask you to check out their blog, but an author? Naah, they just loose all credibility doing that.
That's understandable, but I think what they meant was not trying to spam them by asking to leave a comment. Too much unnecessary pressure, if you ask me. Most of the bloggers who commented apparently love visiting back the blog anyway, so there would be no need for promoting. And I agree, not all comments should be a paragraph size. Like I made an example, Person A's comment feels more genuine, even if it's shorter. some of the best I got where short, funny and meaningful.
Great post! I really love getting comments and I will try to reply to everyone. But it's completely understandable that you don't have time to do that everyday. It's indeed a pity when people don't leave their blog link anywhere in the comments or in their profile, that way I won't be able to visit their blog, which I love to do.
I never understood why people leave links in their comments when it doesn't directly relate to the post.
Times that it's kinda okay to do:
- when you review the same book, link to the review
- when you're part of a meme or blog hop
- when you write up a discussion posts that covers the same topic. Hold on, let me grab the link for my comments are cool post. :P
Yeah, if your time is really tight, you just have to choose between replying and leaving a new comment on their blog. Maybe flipping a coin would come in handy ;)
Ha! Yeah, I wanted to add that blog hops and whatnot are completely different. It makes it easier to find a direct link to your post. Oh, and I never remember similar discussion posts so I can link to them, but that sounds brilliant!
Oh, one more thing. If you leave links in comments, sometimes it gets filtered as spam. And then it stands a good chance of being deleted by accident. :(
Great post! When people try to push their own blog/product/site in a comment, it's annoying. Also, when people who comment don't have their blog link somewhere in their profile? Annoying! I love to reciprocate comments but when they don't have it in their profile (or anywhere else for that matter), it makes things a little harder.
Reciprocating of comments is really nice but I can understand when people don't. Blogging (and commenting) takes up time.
I didn't know that! Maybe that's why some of the genuine comments I got were marked as spam. Thanks for the heads up Lizzy!
This is such a great topic... And a sensitive one for a lot of people, I think. IMO, commenting is VERY important to the blogging community. Yes, we talk to each other through Twitter/FB, etc, but commenting is THE THING we do to show that we appreciate each other's blogs and that this whole dang thing is worth it!
That being said, it's hard to comment on ALL THE BLOGS and answer ALL THE COMMENTS every single day. I usually dedicate some time to comment on the posts that I like or appreciate or want to discuss. That doesn't mean I have to comment on every single post or even comment for every single person. While I appreciate comments from the same people, I know it's not logical to expect someone to read and comment on every post I ever write! And I hope they understand that I don't have time to answer every comment I ever get. I DO try to answer most of them, but we all have busy lives and I think most people feel the same way! :)
What really does bother me is when people leave links in my comments (especially with TTT haha). Generally, I've been trying to visit those blogs who comments on mine within a day or two and find a post to comment on. It's nice and a good practice for me to fall in! Reciprocating :) What I don't like is when a link is left and it's the "Here, I commented on your blog, now you're obligated to visit mine." and it just leaves me with an icky feeling!
OKAY phew. Long comment, sorry! But lots of thoughts on this topic! Thanks for stirring it up! :)
Minions never fail >:D
I always try to return the comment love, but sometimes I just forget or don't have enough time. But I almost always check out a new person's blog and comment. Although, if they made a comment like the examples you showed, I probably won't give them the time of day.
And I always try to follow the Treat People the Way You Wanted to be Treated when I make a comment. I don't want to be spammed, so I won't spam. I want thoughtful comments, so I try to give thoughtful comments. Etc.
Great post!
Yeah, I totally understand if someone doesn't return a comment. Between replying and mainting your blog it's tough, but some people managae to make a system out of it, you know :D
I totally agree. If it weren't for comments, I don't think I could go on with blogging. It just feels like no one reads my blog, you know?
And yeah, I definitely don't comment on ALL the blogs I follow. I group them into favourites, and others. I try to keep up with the blogs in my favourites group, and visit the others less regularly.
Even worse, is when someone ASKS to drop by their blog, and leave a comment. In all fairness, it only happened once, but it urged me into writing this post :P But I don't blame them though. When I first started out, I might have seen nothing with doing so. Gladly, my laziness prevented me from doing so, so phew! ;P
Really glad you stopped by, Brittany! ;)
They don't, do they? :D I agree, sometimes comments get lost between the chaos and I don't reply to them :D
That's exactly what I think. If I leave a spammy comment, that might make the blogger not interested in checking out my blog, so its not even worth it :D
Minions are adorable and always reliable. They're the first on the line o.O.
Disqus is hard to navigate. Sometimes I've clicked on profiles and not seen where a blogger came from, and sometime I know they've commented in the past, maybe potentially with a link to where they're from, but I couldn't remember where. Sometimes the link won't show up when I look at it from blogger comments either (I wonder if it's the http:// part)....
Keep it up, bro. lolololol. dying. thank god no one has said that to me.
No blogger is ever obliged to visit your blog, true. Most of the times, when I'm commenting on someone else's blog, it truly is because i am trying to interact more with them. i am not so good with twitter or other platforms, but i won't lie. There are some bloggers who haven't replied to a single comment I've left - on *their* blog, via twitter, visiting my blog - and that makes me feel cold. I think the blogger is awesome, but it's hard to hold a convo. on your own....
I totally agree with what you said. I wouldn't strike up conversations on Twitter before, but once I got into the blog community and noticed how friendly everyone was, it became easier. And yes, a big part of commenting goes back to you wanting to get to know the blogger. It is why I started blogging in the first place. None of the people I knew in real life are readers, so it was tough.
And yeah, there are bloggers who post AWESOME posts that I can relate and comment to, but even after commenting multiple times and not getting feedback, it feels like they're not reading it, you know? :D
Ack, couldn't agree more! Though I think a lot of those people gave up a long time ago on our blog! Steph and I just don't comment much! But it's definitely something important for a blogger if they want to really be part of the community!
I totally understand you guys not replying back. Cuddlebuggery gets a lot of comments, and replying to them would mean you won't have time to even blog! No one wants that :P
I try to comment back, I am a very social person so I enjoy visiting blogs and staying for coffee. I am having to rethink things though. I host a meme on Sundays and commenting back or visiting everyone who stops by well that can be 60+ blogs and my b-hind starts to hurt trying to comment, so I do what you do comment back on new arrivals immediately and catch up all week on the regulars.
Oh, that must be tough! I think people will understand if you don't comment on all the blogs. After all, we need time to actually blog! :P
When someone comments, I make sure I comment back! That's my commenting rule for myself. :) I always appreciate comments and the commentor's time (that's not even a word, whatever) so I'll make sure to take MY time and comment back!
Leigh, LBS ★
Yeah, I totally agree. I think most bloggers do that, so we can get to know each other, you know? :D